KITTERY, Maine Men fought deadly seas in small wooden boats from the Wood Island Life Saving Station to rescue mariners in distress starting in 1908. Their whispered motto? “We have to go out, but we don’t have to come back.”
“It’s where wooden boats met service,” said Sam Reid, president of the Wood Island Life Saving Station Association.
Hear the history of these Portsmouth Harbor “surfmen,” who were part of the U.S. Life Saving Service a forerunner of the U.S. Coast Guard. Learn how the Life Saving Station is being brought back to life. Reid will speak to island’s past and future at 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 16 in a free webinar sponsored by the Active Retirement Association. Advanced sign up is required at Wood Island Registration or by emailing araseacoast@gmail.com for the registration link. Guests receive a confirmation email with information on how to attend.